European Producers: The Brits, Part Two-BBC Films / Stewart Talks Billy Lynn / A Look at La La Soon?

Welcome to Tuesday...


EUROPEAN PRODUCERS: THE BRITS, PART TWO: BBC FILMS

BBC Films has been a T-ride player solidly from 2008-2013.  Then a couple of years of not being represented:

2008: Millions
2009: Fish Tank, Bright Star, An Education
2010: The First Grader, Tamara Drewe
2011: We Have to Talk About Kevin
2012: Ginger and Rosa
2013: The Invisible Woman
2014- None
2015- None

Despite not having had a hand in a Telluride screened film in a couple of years, BBC Films has a shot with three films this year.  Ritesh Batra's The Sense of an Ending (CBS Films), Clint Eastwood's Sully (Warners) and James Marsh's The Mercy (still no U.S. distrib).  Of the three, Sense of an Ending might be the most probable with Sully the least.  That said, I wouldn't rate any of these film's chances at more than 30%  right now.

Our look tomorrow will be at The British Film Institute.


STEWART TALKS BILLY LYNN

Indie film darling  Kristen Stewart recently talked to Collider about the look and feel of Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk in which she appears.  Though it's not a film that I think has a high chance of playing TFF #43, it's certainly on my wish list for the fest and a film that seems very intriguing.

Here's the link to the Collider story:

https://t.co/jnZXrUUcJD


A LOOK AT LA LA LAND SOON?

Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere yesterday reported that we should be seeing a teaser for La La Land soon as a precursor to the theatrical screening of Woody Allen's latest, Cafe Society.

The HE post tells us that the teaser is set to appear this weekend and speculates that we could conceivably see it pop online before Friday.

As regular readers are aware, owing to its announced status as the Venice opening night film and a good deal of speculation beyond this blog space, I'm modestly bullish on its chances of playing at TFF #43.  A look at the teaser is highly anticpated here at MTFB.

Here's the link to the Wells story:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2016/07/yes-i-can-dance-you-know-i-can-dance



That's a wrap for Tuesday.  Come back tomorrow...

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More from Toronto Tomorrow/The British are Coming Part One/Rumor Central: Venice

It's Monday and will be all day...


MORE FROM TORONTO TOMORROW

The Toronto International Film festival will announce more titles tomorrow.  According to sources, they will be announcing their Vanguard and Masters sections.  I'm assuming that there will also be additional announcements regarding Galas and Special Presentations.  That assumption is based on the fact that TIFF has done 20 Galas in each of the last three years and somewhere between 70 and 80 Special Presentations in that same time frame.  Last Tuesday they announced 13 Galas and 46 Special Presentations.  So, unless they have radically downsized, there are a lot more of that type of announcement to come as well and that's important to our attempt to sniff out Telluride-bound films.

In 2011 T-ride and TIFF shared 21 titles...8 were either Galas or Special Presentations.  In 2012 the two fests shared 22 titles with 15 as Galas/Special Presentations and in 2013 they shared 23 films with 16 as Galas/Special Presentations.

In 2011 there was a higher concentration of T-ride films in the Contemporary World Cinema and Masters sections (9).  Additionally, the two fests have commonly shared three or four documentaries.

We are already are assuming that two of the 13 Galas will have played Telluride first ("Foxcatcher" and "Wild") and five of the 46 Special Presentations ("99 Homes", "The Imitation Game", "Mr. Turner", "Rosewater", and "Wild Tales").  What that would mean in a "normal" year is that there are still about seven Galas and maybe 30-ish Special Presentations to be announce yet and that 8-10 of those additional films would play both festivals...but it's NOT a "normal" year.

All of this could be skewed this year as a result of TIFF's new "World/North American" premiere policy meaning that the Toronto program may not be as large as it customarily has been (and I have seen that suggestion in a couple of places) and/or there may not be as much overlap between the two fests as has been the norm.

At any rate, if past trends hold for the size of TIFF, they still have about a third of their program to announce as regards their Galas and Special Presentations and with TIFF's predilection to announce a film's premiere status, we'll probably be able to do some more Telluride guesswork based on what we hear tomorrow.

Finally, this note...I have a feeling that someone is going to test Toronto's mandate.  I have no real reason for that, it's just an intuition but I'm thinking someone is going to attempt the Telluride "sneak preview" that is slated as a World/North American premiere at Toronto.


EUROPEAN PRODUCERS: THE BRITISH ARE COMING PART ONE.

For the last couple of summers I have included an analysis of certain European production companies focusing on the Brits and the French companies that are consistently connected to films that end up on the Telluride playlist.  I'm doing it again this week beginning with some of the British companies.

BBC FILMS

Here's what I have been able to track down from the last half decade vis-a-vis BBC Films at Telluride:

2008: Millions
2009: Fish Tank, Bright Star, An Education
2010: The First Grader, Tamara Drewe
2011: We Have to Talk About Kevin
2012: Ginger and Rosa
2013: The Invisible Woman

Up until Tuesday, the best guess I would have had for Telluride from what BBC Films has in its stable this year would have been Alan Rickman's "A Little Chaos" but that was announced as TIFF's closing night film so that's off the table now.  Perhaps the best BBC Film shot for Telluride this year is Michael Winterbottom's "The Face of an Angel" starring Kate Beckinsale and Daniel Bruhl.

Carol Morley's "The Falling" starring Greta Scacchi is also a possibility.

"The Face of an Angel's "IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2967008/

BBC Film's IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/company/co0103694/?ref_=ttco_co_1


THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

BFI's past Telluride history includes:

2012: Ginger and Rosa
2013: Under the Skin

They have some involvement with the already assumed Telluride title "Mr. Turner".  Additionally, BFI also has a hand in the above mentioned "The Falling".  An additional title that might have some legs for Telluride is Debbie Tucker Green's "Second Coming" starring Idris Elba.

The best BFI shot this year is probably Ken Loach's Cannes competition piece "Jimmy's Hall" that's being distributed here in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics.

"Jimmy's Hall's" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3110960/?ref_=ttco_co_tt


THE UK FILM COUNCIL

This British production house has an even more prevalent profile for Telluride over the past decade than BBC Films does, although they were shut out in 2012.

The UK Film Council track record over the past decade:

2003: Intermission, Touching the Void
2004: Enduring Love, Merchant of Venice
2006: Venus, The Last King of Scotland, Deep Water
2007: When Did You Last See Your Father, Brick Lane
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2009: Fish Tank, Bright Star
2010: Tamara Drewe, The King's Speech
2011: Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin
2013: Under the Skin

Here's the thing...the UK Film Council has no film listed that seems remotely ready for a 2014 play date.

Tomorrow a look at Film4 and See-Saw Films...


RUMOR CENTRAL: VENICE

I'm doing the due diligence folks.

In an interview with Nancy Tartaglione published by Deadline.com last Thursday Venice head honcho Alberto Barbera told her that "He  knows that there are five titles that will world premiere in Venice this year with the filmmakers immediately hopping a plane after the screening to get to Colorado."

Venice has announced 55 films and opens Aug. 27th (two days before Telluride) with Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance".  Count that as one of the five.  Also count Ramin Bahrani's "99 Homes" as another.  So what might the other three be?

I'll eat my hat if Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Look of Silence" isn't one of them.

 Best bets after that (at least as far as I can guess them) are:

Xavier Beauvois' "La Rancon de la Glorie" ('The Price of Fame") starring American actor Peter Coyote.

Peter Bogdanovich's "She's Funny That Way" (the now re-titled "Squirrels to the Nuts") starring Imogen Poots, Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

Roy Andersson's "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence".

Lisa Cholodenko's HBO mini-series "Olive Kitteridge" which stars Bill Murray and Frances McDormand. It would pair nicely if Murray's "St. Vincent" also comes to town and maybe Ms. McDormand would be inclined after her husband was one of Telluride's tribute recipient's last year..Joel Coen.

Ulrich Seidl's documentary "In the Basement".

Of course, all of this speculation could be 100% wrong...

 Barbera's interview is here:

http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/venice-chief-alberto-barbera-i-dont-like-the-idea-of-a-war-amongst-festivals/#more-787416

Brits Produce/Mads Mikkelsen: The Hunt/Wadjda Trailer

Good Monday to All.  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend.

BRITS PRODUCE

Two weeks ago, I was looking at domestic distributors that seem to be frequently represented at the Telluride Film Festival.  Last week I focused on smaller scale domestic distributors and a group of individuals that also have a frequent presence.  This week I'm going to be looking at European film production companies that seem to pop up in film credits at Telluride with some frequency.

Today and tomorrow will be centered on the British. The end of the week on the French (and maybe one other).

But let's start with the U.K.:

BBC FILMS

Here's what I have been able to track down from the last half decade vis-a-vis BBC Films at Telluride:

2008: Millions
2009: Fish Tank, Bright Star, An Education
2010: The First Grader, Tamara Drewe
2011: We Have to Talk About Kevin
2012: Ginger and Rosa

BBC Films most likely Telluride offerings for 2013 would include:

"The Invisible Woman" and "Philomena".  There actually seems to have been a backwards confirmation for "The Invisible Woman" as a TFF #40 film according to a Daily Mail story from June 27:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2350412/Backstabbing-RSC--Mantel.html

"Philomena" has also been fairly high on my list of Telluride possibles.  I wouldn't be surprised if both films make the cut  for The SHOW.


UK FILM COUNCIL

This British production house has an even more prevalent profile for Telluride over the past decade than BBC Films does, although they were shut out in 2012.

The UK Film Council track record over the past decade:

2003: Intermission, Touching the Void
2004: Enduring Love, Merchant of Venice
2006: Venus, The Last King of Scotland, Deep Water
2007: When Did You Last See Your Father, Brick Lane
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2009: Fish Tank, Bright Star
2010: Tamara Drewe, The King's Speech
2011: Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin

So They've been represented in 8 of the last 10 years and often with 2 films in those years that they have been represented.  The trouble is that there doesn't seem to be a lot to chose from in the UK Film Council pantheon of films at the moment.

Maybe the most likely is Kevin Macdonald's "How I Live Now".  Macdonald, at one point, was often represented at Telluride but hasn't had a film play TFF since 2007's "My Enemy's Enemy".  The film stars Saoirse Ronan.

We could see Ken Loach's documentary about WWII Britain, "The Spirit of '45".  It played the Berlin Fest.


The third (and least likely possibility from my perspective) is Jonathan Glazer's highly anticipated "Under the Skin" starring Scarlett Johansson as an alien in human form.

Chances:

"How I Live Now" 50%
"Spirit of 45" 30%
"Under the Skin" 15%

Tomorrow I'll take a look at Film4 and Film Four...

MADS MIKKELSEN: THE HUNT

TFF #39 Tributee and current buzz-meister (for his role as Hannibal Lecter on NBC's "Hannibal"), Mads Mikkelsen was something of a rarity at last year's fest as he was the lead in 2 films: "A Royal Affair" and "The Hunt".  He was also the lead in Cannes competition film "Michael Kolhaus".  Anne Thompson sat down with the very busy actor while he was in Telluride and talked to him.  Thompson posted the interview on her Thompson on Hollywood site this past week.  Here it is:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/mads-mikkelsen-interview-at-telluride

WADJDA TRAILER

This past week The Playlist highlighted the release of the trailer for this ground breaking Saudi film that was featured at TFF #39.  Here's the link to that post with the trailer included:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/put-on-your-must-watch-list-trailer-for-saudi-arabias-first-ever-film-wadjda-20130703


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More tomorrow...

Ten Bets/BBC Films/The Sapphires Pics/What Are We Doin' Tonight Marty?

God Monday Everyone...hope you had a great weekend!


TEN BETS #3

Here's a look at last week's "Ten Bets":


1) Amour
2) Rust and Bone
3) Beyond the Hills
4) Hyde Park on Hudson
5) Song for Marion
6) No
7) Something in the Air
8) The East
9) Midnight's Children
10) The Central Park Five


Here's this week's

"Song for Marion"

1) Amour
2) Rust and Bone
3) Beyond the Hills
4) Hyde Park on Hudson
5) Something in the Air
6) No
7) Song for Marion
8) On the Road
9) The Central Park Five
10) Serge Bromberg's Charlie Chaplin Project

The East and Midnight's Children dropped to make room for On the Road and the Bromberg project.  That's because I bumped into some bits and pieces of info this past week that made me re-evaluate On the Road's chances (which I have been decent anyway...even when it was bumped briefly from the "Ten Bets" list).  Other info leads me to believe, pretty strongly, that Serge Bromberg will be back in town on Labor Day.  I'm still also leaning toward "The Hunt", "Like Someone in Love", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Reality".




BBC FILMS

We're going to finish up our stroll through film production/distribution houses with history at Telluride this week and we'll be looking primarily at England.  Today's specimen is the BBC Films.

BBC Films at Telluride the past few festivals include:

2011: We Need to Talk About Kevin
2010: The First Grader, Tamara Drewe
2009: Bright Star, Fish Tank, An Education
2000: Shadow of the Vampire

BBC Films has been a relative newcomer to Telluride and, as you can see, the track record indicates that 2 films from them in a year is what might be expected.  So what does BBC Films have its fingers on that seems Telluride-like?

One film that I have already mentioned is Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut "Quartet".  That seems like a 50-50 candidate at best.

There's the Dakota Fanning vehicle "Now is Good" in which she plays a young woman dying of leukemia with a wish list that includes losing her virginity before she dies (which seems like it could play on a double bill with Fox Searchlight's Sundance success "The Sessions")...

There's the BIG adaptation of Dickens' "Great Expectations" with Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham directed by Mike Newell.



Those three films seem t like the most likely of the films currently listed for BBC Films by IMDb to be Telluride possibles and I have to say that I don't have a strong inclination that nay of them will actually make the trip across the pond for Labor Day weekend.  BBC Films does have other projects in the bag, but for one reason or another, they don't seem as likely as the three I have listed here.

So, perhaps, this is a year like 2008 or 2011 in which BBC films doesn't make the Telluride scene, or if they do, it's with one film only.

Tomorrow a look at the UK Film Council.


THE SAPPHIRES PICS

Another of the possible films that Harvey Weinstein and the crew at TWC could end up with on the Telluride program is their Cannes acquisition "The Sapphires" directed by Wayne Blair.

The film follows the fortunes of a 60's girl group from Australia.

The Playlist posted new photos and a information late last week and here's the link to that:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-from-the-weinsteins-the-sapphires-starring-chris-odowd-20120705#

"The Sapphires'" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673697/


WHAT ARE WE DOIN' TONIGHT, MARTY?

That iconic line is from the Paddy Chayefsky penned/Delbert Mann directed "Marty" for which Ernest Borgnine won the Best Actor Oscar in 1956.  Borgnine died this weekend at the age of 95.  He also appeared in a number of other notable projects over the years including "The Dirty Dozen", "From Here to Eternity" and "The Poseidon Adventure".  For a kid rowing up with the relatively new medium of television in the early 1960's, he was Lt. Cmdr. McHale in the series "McHale's Navy".

His loss coupled with Andy Griffith's last week create a huge hole where a lot of television used to be.

Bloopers from "McHale's Navy" via YouTube

Ernest Borgnine 1917-2012.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/

More later...

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